Georges de Brébeuf not only translated Lucan's Pharsalia in rhyming alexandrines but also produced a travesty of the same work. This unique situation can be understood as a complicated response to the aesthetic provocation offered by the Latin poem. Translation and travesty form a hybrid whole. It is argued that our encounter with Brébeuf’s contradictory poet can help us to better grasp what kind of writer Lucan is: one who grotesquely undercuts his own sublime aspirations
